Over the years, various ways for incorporating a music box into a vehicle have been suggested. For example, in Handler, U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,997, a music box is incorporated into a toy vehicle, and an adjustable actuating mechanism is designed to actuate the music box in several different operating modes. The music box comprises an endless elastic band with plucking fingers protruding therefrom, and a comb with cantilevered reed members which are engaged by the plucking fingers and vibrated to produce musical sounds. The elastic band is entrained, under tension, about a pair of spaced shafts, one of which rotatably driven. The driven shaft has a frictional engagement with the inside of the elastic band, so that rotation of the shaft causes movement of the elastic band. The driven shaft is rotated by a driven wheel which is rotated by frictional engagement with one of the rear wheels of the vehicle.
The Handler toy vehicle has a rear wheel axle which can be moved relative to the vehicle body, to enable the toy vehicle to have three different operating modes. Specifically, a rear wheel axle is adapted to shift relative to the vehicle body between an engaged position in which the driven wheel is engaged with one of the rear wheels and frictionably driven thereby, and a disengaged position in which the driven wheel is disengaged from the rear wheels. A spring biases the rear wheel axle to a position in which the driven wheel is disengaged from the rear wheels. In one operating mode, the rear axle is clamped in a position in which the rear wheels are disengaged from the driven wheel so that the music box does not play. In that mode, the toy vehicle can "freewheel". In another operating mode, the wheel axle is clamped in a position in which the driven wheel is engaged and rotated continuously to cause continuous operation of the music box. In that operating mode, the elastic band is rotated in one direction when the toy vehicle rolls in a forward direction and in an opposite direction when the toy vehicle rolls in a reverse direction. In yet a further operating mode, the rear axle is not maintained in either an engaged or disengaged position, and the driven wheel is intermittently frictionally engaged with one of the rear wheels when downward pressure is applied to the vehicle body. Downward pressure on the rear of the vehicle body causes frictional engagement of the driven wheel with the one of the rear wheels, in order to rotate the elastic band. When the downward pressure is released, the spring retracts the rear wheel axle to a position in which the driven wheel is disengaged from the rear wheels, thereby enabling the vehicle to freewheel.
In the applicant's experience, an elastic band such as disclosed in Handler produces a relatively hollow sound in comparison to the rigid, cylindrical drum which can be found in collectible, stationary wind-up music boxes. Also, applicant assumes that the plucking fingers on the elastic band would actuate the reeds in the tonal pattern of a recognizable tune when the band rotates in one direction, but would not play a recognizable melody when the band rotates in the opposite direction. Thus, in either the continuous play or the intermittent play mode, if the toy vehicle is rolled in both forward and reverse directions, the music box will play a recognizable tune when the vehicle rolls in one direction, but will play unrecognizable music then the vehicle rolls in the other direction. If one waited to avoid the unrecognizable music, an obvious way would be by means of the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,655. U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,655 discloses a way of making an elastic band type of music box play only in one direction, by shaping the the plucking fingers on the elastic band so that when the elastic band moves in a reverse direction, no sound is produced.
Another disclosure of a music box which can be incorporated into a toy vehicle is found in Duncan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,961,911. Duncan discloses a music box comprising a plucking disc and a comb disposed below the plucking disc. The plucking disc is rotatable about a central post. A gear profile is formed at the outer perimeter of the plucking disc and is configured to engage a pair of pinion gears disposed along the wheel axle of the toy vehicle. Both pinion gears rotate in the same direction on the wheel axle, but because they are 180.degree. out of phase, the pinion gears tend to try to turn the gear on the plucking disc in opposite directions. A pair of springs are rotatably supported by the wheel axle. The springs are designed to engage shoulders on the backside of the pinion gears so that each spring can drive its respective pinion gear in one direction and ratchet over the shoulder when the pinion gear is rotated in the other direction. Thus, one pinion gear or the other is always driving the plucking disc in a single direction, regardless of which direction the wheel axle is turning. This leads to continuous rotation of the plucking disc in one direction regardless of whether the vehicle is rolling in a forward or reverse mode.
Applicant believes the niceties of the foregoing type of structures are offset by drawbacks. Handler's toy vehicle has various play modes, which is attractive in the toy art. However, Handler's elastic band music box produces a fairly hollow, muffled, imprecise tonal quality, in comparison to the relatively rich, resonant, accurate tonal quality which can be produced by a rigid cylindrical drum-type music box. Moreover, Handler's structure utilizes a friction drive to operate the music box, and in the applicant's experience, a friction drive would require very high precision and close tolerances to drive continuously the elastic band. Otherwise, a friction drive will have slippage, which further diminishes the tonal quality of the musical sound produced by Handler's elastic band. Also, the package size and the assembly technique for Handler's device are dictated by the fact that (i) Handler's music box components are all secured to the bottom of the body, (ii) Handler's driven wheel frictionally engages the outer perimeter of the rear wheel, and (iii) Handler's elastic band must be stretched taut to produce any kind of acceptable drive and sound.
By contrast, Duncan's toy vehicle does not have the play value of Handler's toy vehicle, but Duncan's toy vehicle produces a tune continuously because the plucking disc is always rotated in a single direction. However, applicant believes Duncan's structure is fairly complex. Moreover, a plucking disc and gear combination would have to be fairly wide to be rotated in the manner disclosed by Duncan and also support enough plucking fingers to produce the same tune that can be produced with a relatively small diameter rigid cylinder type of music box. Thus, Duncan's structure restricts the ability to miniaturize the vehicle package and yet produce a complex tune in high quality tones.
In the toy art there is a continuous demand for miniature vehicle structures that can incorporate play value. Moreover, in both the toy art and the collectible music box art, there is a continuous demand for new and useful ways of producing complex music in high quality tones by means of music boxes which can be located in compact, but attractive, housings. Still further, applicant believes it important that incorporation of a music box into a toy vehicle or a collectible type of vehicle be accomplished by means of structure which is relatively simple in construction and easily assembled into a music box which produces rich, high quality sound.